The primary cause of hearing loss is extended exposure to high decibel levels and damaging sound. The hearing loss an individual suffers is directly related to the levels or type of sound to which he/she is exposed. The uniqueness of the sounds an individual encounters results in uniqueness in the level or frequencies of their hearing loss. Deficiencies tend to vary across the range of audible sound with many individuals having hearing impairment with respect to only particular acoustic frequencies.
Hearing aids are programmed by a hearing health professional to compensate for the individual's hearing loss. During the fitting and programming process, the hearing health professional typically takes measurements using calibrated and specialized equipment to assess an individual's hearing capabilities in a variety of simulated sound environments, and then adjusts the hearing aid based on the calibrated measurements. In some instances, the hearing health professional may create multiple hearing profiles for the user for use in different sound environments.
However, such measurements taken by the hearing health professional may not accurately reflect the individual's actual acoustic environment. The health professional may ask questions about the individual's typical environment, but such questions only provide rough estimates as to the actual noise exposure. If the hearing health professional had access to data related to the actual acoustic environment of the individual, he/she could tune the hearing aid more precisely, providing a more enjoyable hearing experience.
While some systems exist for collecting acoustic data, such acoustic collection systems are typically limited to discrete sound environments. One example of such a collection system is an industrial process control system that uses acoustic sensors for monitoring various process parameters. Such systems are often calibrated to detect selected changes in acoustic signals within a single physical environment that does not typically change rapidly.
Another example of such a collection system includes a set of receivers arranged to monitor a limited area. One such collection system can be used to monitor oceanic environmental parameters, such as wind speeds, for example. Unfortunately, the area that can be reliably monitored in this way is relatively small. Though large areas may be monitored by spacing such sensors far apart, such spacing results in few data points.
In the following description, the use of the same reference numerals in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.